


Rats and Rules

by eeyorgh



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Feelings, Insecurity, M/M, Mick Rory is Bad at Feelings, Relationship Negotiation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-10-28 19:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17793146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeyorgh/pseuds/eeyorgh
Summary: Mick doesn't care much about following the chore wheel. After this leads to a shrunken Ray almost dying, Ray worries this means Mick doesn't care much about him either.





	Rats and Rules

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Ganesh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/gifts).



> Hi **Lady_Ganesh**! I hope you like this! I absolutely love Ray and Mick so I was super excited to write this, and I really loved your prompt about the chore wheel -- I love that little canon detail too.

"Mick! You didn't clean the bathroom!"

Mick looked up as Ray entered the library. Not this again. "You're right. I didn't. And?"

"It was your job to clean the bathroom this week."

"Says who?"

"Says the chore wheel."

Mick already knew that, but there was no way he was telling Ray.

"I'm not following your stupid chore wheel. Clean it yourself if you want it clean."

Ray looked at Mick entreatingly. Mick hated that look. That look was too effective. "You remember what happened last time you didn't follow the chore wheel?"

Mick did. Mick ignored Ray rather than responding. He didn't particularly want to remember that incident anyway.

"You do, don't you?" Ray pushed.

Mick continued to ignore him. Maybe he'd go away and Mick could stop having to look at him. Not that he was bad to look at or anything, but he didn't like how looking at Ray made him feel. Or, really, that it made him feel any way at all.

"I know you remember Mick. Last time you didn't follow the chore wheel I ended up stuck shrunk and running away from a rat that was bigger than me that was on the ship because you didn't clean."

Mick sighed. So much for avoiding. He should have known Ray wouldn't drop it. "Yeah, I remember. So not following your chore wheel got me Axl. Sounds like a pretty good call to me."

Ray squawked indignantly, "Almost getting me killed is a pretty good call?"

Mick paused, looking Ray up and down from head to toe. He might have lingered a bit. "Don't look dead to me, Haircut."

Oops. That might have been too far. Ray looked at him disappointedly, before quietly saying, while staring Mick straight in the eye, "I didn't realize my life meant that little to you."

Then he turned and started to leave the room.

Shit. Mick had screwed up. He had to fix it, quick. "Wait, Haircut."

Ray paused at the door.

Mick steeled himself. This was going to require talking about feelings. This was going to suck. "It doesn't."

Ray looked confused. "What doesn't what?"

"Your life. Doesn't mean that little to me."

Ray looked like he thought he was being humored. "Oh, well, okay, good to know. You going to clean the bathroom then?"

Mick practically growled. "I'll clean your stupid bathroom if it means so much to you, but that's not my point and you know it."

Ray smiled, which made him more like how Haircut was supposed to look. Good. Mick hoped that meant maybe he understood. "Okay, Mick, I get it. You care about me and all the other Legends, even if you're awful at showing it sometimes."

Huh. Ray still didn't get it after all. "No."

Ray looked confused. "No, you don't care about me and the other Legends?"

Damn it. "I wasn't talking about the others. I was talking about you."

Ray looked even more confused. "No, you don't care about me, but you do care about the other Legends?"

Mick had no clue how Ray could be so dense. He thought he was slow, but for a smart person, Ray Palmer had him beat at stupid when it came to human interaction. "Why are you so dense?"

"Huh?"

Clearly, Mick was going to have to be more direct. He hated these kinds of conversations. "I do care about you. And not like the other Legends."

Ray goggled at him. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again."

Ray still looked a bit stunned. "Sorry, still absorbing here. Did Mick Rory just say he cared about me?"

Mick's mutter of yes came out quietly enough that he worried Ray wouldn't catch it. He wished he could fast forward through this part to get to the good, or really awful, bits. But Ray clearly heard it, and seemed to be beginning to actually absorb what Mick had said. He paused before asking, "Just to clarify here, when we talk about caring here, do we mean like, platonic, friendship caring or, umm. Something more?"

Mick gave Ray a skeptical look, because really? He thought he'd been pretty clear. "Something more. Obviously."

"Oh, okay."

Ray paused for a moment, looking like he was thinking, and then appeared to have arrived at a decision. He started walking towards Mick, getting closer and closer. Mick, confused, started walking backwards, until he was backed up against the bookshelf, Ray still following him, less than a foot away. Ray cupped his hand around Mick's face. Mick stared at him.

"Is this alright?" asked Ray.

Mick wasn't all that good with words when he got this close to Ray. "Is what alright?"

"I want to kiss you. Is that alright?"

"Uh. Yes."

Ray leaned in. Right before their lips touched, Mick's brain woke up enough from the haze of Ray crowded up against him to realize what was actually about to happen. "Wait!"

"Huh?" Ray asked.

"Why are you doing this? Is this pity or something?"

Ray rocked back on his heels. "Oh. I guess I forgot to say. I like you too. Obviously. Now can we get back to kissing?"

Mick thought for a moment. "Yep, we can get back to kissing."


End file.
